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Greensboro Apartments Where Five Died Rife With Code Violations

(Screenshot, Courtesy Fox 8)

Inspectors found hundreds of code violations at a Greensboro apartment complex where five refugee children died in a fire earlier this month.

Most of the problems were minor. But the News & Record of Greensboro reports inspectors found a handful of serious violations.

They include a leaking sewer line, malfunctioning faucets and an electrical problem that could have led to immediate condemnation of the units.

Authorities say a pot left on the stove caused the May 12 fire that killed five children ranging in age from 18 months to 9 years old. After the deaths, residents asked for the city to inspect the 42-unit property.

Inspectors found at least five violations in each of the apartments, located at 3100 Summit Avenue,  and officials say they are compiling a report to give to the property owners.

Paul Garber is a Winston-Salem native and an award-winning reporter who began his journalism career with an internship at The High Point Enterprise in 1993. He has previously worked at The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The News and Record of Greensboro and the Winston-Salem Journal, where he was the newspaper's first full-time multimedia reporter. He won the statewide Media and the Law award in 2000 and has also been recognized for his business, investigative and multimedia reporting. Paul earned a BA from Wake Forest University and has a Master's of Liberal Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Master's of Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He lives in Lewisville.

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